The Universe is Going to Catch You
by cervinecanine
Summary: With coding came capacity, and with capacity came ability. He was coded to sell. He was coded to fight. Until, one day they weren't.
1. Prologue

Zacharie was the businessman needed in every rpg game ever created. He was well aware of his state, sending cryptic messages to his client(s) that it was all a game. He also knew that where there is a game, there is coding. Where there is coding, there are files sitting like ducks, waiting for some fingers to press the keyboard and change everything. What changed the world was a simple, yet bold thing.


	2. Chapter 1: Capacity

In the entirety of his career, Zacharie teleported magically place to place, wherever he was needed. While his text implied he held character, Zach never cared. He was as emotionally empty as the Batter, with only the tiniest sense of free thought. He was built to understand basic trial and error. He only existed then, and gave a few chuckles to give the Player the perception of him being real and human. Sadly, Zacharie never smiled under his mask. He was there for the Player's needs. Once the Batter was out of sight, Zacharie would teleport to his next location, awaiting the hero of the story. But today, after the reset, he didn't teleport.

He stood there, for around 30 minutes, believing the game had been paused.. It was plausible since the Batter saved his progress after leaving Zone 0. After another 30 minutes, he moved his hand. He watched as his grimy fingers danced and knew that if they game had been paused, he would be unable to move anything. Not hesitating any longer, he walked in the general direction of his next location. Zacharie had no idea what would indicate if he was close to the teleportation site, or if the site even existed at this point.

While traversing the foreign land, he encountered scared little men. A few warned him of specters in the mines, and that a man was down there getting rid of them. As Zacharie walked on, the sweaty creatures tried to stop him, but their voices faded into a solemn "okay".

In the mines, he found the remains of spectres. The fine black dust they left behind led a trail directly to the man in action. Zacharie watched as the infamous Purifier swung his bat, delivering the final blow to a rather small ghost. . A small feeling bubbling in the masked merchant's chest, and he could best describe it as the concept of curiosity. The small man crept quietly closer as not to disturb or distract the Batter. It was dark enough for him not to be instantly noticed. He stood there, gazing at what he described as corpses of the dead. The tall quiet man was responsible for the massacre, but to the Batter, this was what needed to be done. He knew it in the bottom of his empty heart.

The Batter turned towards Zacharie and closed one set of eyes. Zacharie always believed the bottom lines to be facial paint, so seeing this revelation sent a cold shiver up his spine. The Purifier was genuinely terrifying. Then the masked man began to fret. While his coding told him to learn basic things, he went and intruded a battle because of an emotion. He gazed down at his hands and squinted. He had been feeling many knew things, that he knew were said to be emotions. What emotions? Zacharie wasn't quite sure. Most of them felt absolutely cold.

"I said hello" the deep voice sounded agitated. Gradually, Zacharie lifted his gaze to meet the cold blue eyes of the Batter. "Hello, mi amigo!" Zacharie chirped like usual, then cursed. He skipped ahead, a good amount of needed script going to waste. The Batter scanned him over and gave a grunt. "Aren't you supposed to show up _later?"_ His tone gave the sense of 'don't fucking follow me'.

"Ah, trying to get rid of me so soon?" Zacharie adjusted his mask to hide the scared look he wore on his face. He gulped and managed to sound warm. "Where are you headed?"

The Batter sighed through clenched teeth and walked onward. The masked man became rather puzzled. How did he forget his lines? Why did he forget his lines? How did the Batter know where he was supposed to spawn? Zacharie's curiosity took control of his legs and before he knew it, he was side by side with the Purifier.

"Stop." the Batter sounded very, _very_ angry.

"Hm?" Zacharie questioned, too afraid to even speak. He took one step forward and the tip of the bat came slamming down one centimeter away from Zacharie's feet. "Stop following me." He was seething, and Zacharie was confused as to why. "I-I supply you with weapons and... " he trailed off, knowing very well that his words were falling on deaf ears.

"Fine. If I buy something, will you leave me alone?" the Batter reached into his pocket to retrieve some credits. This is the most he's ever talked, and the smaller of the two desperately wished he would stop. The merchant unloaded his large hiking bag and gave his trademarked "let me see the color of your credits." After a couple minutes, the Batter stomped off and began mercilessly slaughtering specters.

"What's he so angry about?" Zacharie tapped his mask for comfort.


	3. Chapter 2: Adversity

He never trailed too far behind. They had been all over Zone 1, and the Batter was the only thing that didn't really change. Zacharie would like to think the Batter was aware of his presence, but he was hidden, afraid of any confrontation. The world was changing at a dizzying rate and a fight between the new age witch hunter was not favorable. Well, he _was_ hidden until the Batter backtracked and ran right into him.

Zacharie sputtered and fell back onto his rear. Then he heard it - the groan that signified "I will end you."

"I told you to stop following me" the other man loomed over him menacingly. He leaned on his bat, and he seemed to be contemplating intense homicide. "Ohoho, you can't get rid of me, dear Batter" Zacharie chuckled. He silently thanked the sky for his mask and jumped up. Due to the heftiness of his pack, he leaned backwards and grabbed the closest object for balance. Zacharie grabbed the bat and managed to send both him and the Batter to the ground. The Purifier emitted a loud sigh and pushed himself off of the floor. Then, he let out a small wheeze (the closest he could manage to a laugh) when his gaze landed on Zacharie.

The poor boy was on his back, clinging to a bat for dear life, and kicking his legs for footing. To the Batter, he was reminiscent to a dying bug. He plucked the bat out of the merchants hands and commented "can't let you sell that back to me" and rested the weapon on his shoulders. His cold gaze surveyed his surroundings. Batter was on his way to find Dedan when he heard shuffling, and upon searching for the source of the noise, collided head on with his newfound enemy. Zacharie was categorized as an ignorable, annoying enemy, more accurately described as a pest. A few seconds ago, he even fit the bill. Now, the poor thing was dusting himself off and walking away. His shoulders were hunched and he looked pretty defeated.

An explanation to the Batter's harshness is that he, like Zacharie, was scared. Not of spectres, not of Dedan, but of what he dubbed the Change. This morning, the game was reset. A new save file was created, and with that the Batter was brought forth from the Nothingness yet again. This time, when the Judge confronted him about his puppeteer, he realized he had no name to mention. He didn't even have the gender of the player. He had nothing, so he replied with "they aren't here". What is even more perplexing is the Batter remembered his last run. Never before had he remembered something at the beginning of the game. He remembered the need to visit the mines and such of Zone 1, so he went and began his Sacred Mission. It was mostly to kill time and secondly, to diverge his thoughts from the Player's absence. He shouldn't be moving without the Player, yet he was. He shouldn't even be able to think independently. Yet there he was, letting his thoughts and fear control him.

He was lying to himself, saying he was inspecting the shuffling. He knew it was Zacharie. Batter was and is scared. With the Change, he had no clue whether Dedan could kill him or not. Not only 'kill' him, but keep him dead. Had true mortality been added to the game? Naturally, he was on edge from this whole Change, and he had taken it all out on Zacharie.. Despite the mask covering his face, the Batter knew Zacharie was afraid. The merchant wouldn't be following him if he was sure of himself and his surroundings.

"Stop." The Batter said in a frail voice. Zacharie stopped in his tracks and turned to him. _Shit._ The Purifier meant to think instead of say. Even worse was the sense of vulnerability the tone carried. The Batter never wanted to consider himself a target of fear and death, he considered that the Elsen's job. He cleared his throat awkwardly and strode toward the masked man. "What have you noticed?" The Batter asked in a stern voice. Zacharie pat his chest. "Feelings in here. They make you want to do something particular." The smaller man questioned "they're called emotions, si?" The Batter shrugged. He couldn't care less what they were called, as long as these _emotions_ went away. They were interfering with very important work.

"Well, there were the Elsen…" Zacharie paused, "They seemed more, rambunctious. Not as timid."

"Yeah"

"That implies that Dedan is the least of our worries."

Batter gave a small huff and glanced at the general direction of the fuckwad that is Dedan. First emotions, and then lively Elsen? While the Elsen were still considerably shy, they cracked smiles and told a few puns. A single reset, and suddenly new properties and capacities existed in the universe. This shouldn't be happening. Zacharie chuckled and motioned towards the Batter's hands. "Itching to fight our problems, you big brute?" It took him a moment to realize he had lowered his bat into a swinging stance. The merchant sounded like his usual self. His warm tone laid some of Batter's anxieties to rest. At least _one_ thing hadn't changed. Well, scratch that. Batter knew that Zacharie's personality was growing, as well as his own. Their two dimensional selves were breaking into small mannerisms and motions.

He may seem stone cold, but the Batter could swear he felt the smallest twinge of concentrated sunshine in his stomach. It wasn't enough to change his expression, but it existed. "How about we check?" He said flatly. Zacharie cocked his head to one said then let out a small exclamation. "Lead the way, mi compadre." The masked man gestured with his impure hands and the Batter took the lead. They soon reached the opening of the building and noticed something rather peculiar. It was dark outside, with distant twinkling specks in the sky. A large pale sphere was settled along the specks.


	4. Chapter 3: Generosity

"I uh…" Zacharie stared up at the milky blob, "I have no idea what that is." He held onto the bottom of his shirt. The Batter cocked his head to one side and said "is it… a spectre?"

"Hit it with your bat?" the Merchant sounded shaken. With a violent swing, the Batter sent his bat sailing about 30 feet and completely missed the strange object. Zacharie watched as the Batter slowly retrieved his bat and stared coldly at the object in the sky. It was similar to the sun, given it gave off light and its position. "Did the sun die?" Zacharie could hear a twinge of an accent it the Batter's voice. "It's not as bright, even got some dents in it" the Batter was squinting at the sphere, as if that would help. "Perhaps it's trying to fool you so you don't go and purify it" Zacharie chuckled softly, trying to stir up a conversation. The Batter looked on with a blank expression. "Hhh well, let's go to the save box and see what the other Elsen are up to" The merchant began to walk off, leaving Batter behind. It annoyed him that the sportsman was incapable of humor. The Batter watched Zacharie go and hesitated before catching up to him. After thirty minutes of leisurely walking he could feel something pool in his stomach, something icy and rigid. He had just seen something very wrong. Batter and stopped. "Something wrong?" Zacharie sounded concerned and warm, and before he could stop himself the Batter replied with "I'm scared." The phrase came as a shock to both of them, Zacharie giving a curt "oh" and the Batter widening his eyes. "Ignore that" the Purifier said gruffly before shouldering past his companion. "I can't ignore _that_ " The masked merchant still sounded surprised. "You're the strong guy, the one who can beat anything and you're scared?"

"Zacharie." His emotions were seeping into his voice. He stared at an empty space.

"What? It's nothing."

"Exactly." The Batter stopped in front of the space that caught his eye. Zacharie noticed his associate was shaking. He then realized what the problem was. In that empty space there used to be a save box. The Batter needed it to heal and to travel between zones. Without one, the Batter could actually die.

They stood in silence, processing the implications of a missing save box. This whole phenomenon was no longer exclusive to basic world changes and emotions, it was now playing the role of God. The Batter's fear of true mortality had been confirmed and it began to wash over him like waves in the plastic sea. Of all the thoughts racing through his mind, he kept rethinking one. The thought was important, as it showed the Batter was capable of sympathy and understanding consequence. "T-they felt this." He chattered, shaking too hard to say anything properly. "They felt this when I killed them".

Zacharie stiffened when he heard the term 'killed'. He was so used to the Batter using the word 'purified' to describe his actions towards the spectres. But the spectres were already dead, so whom had he killed? "Who?" Zacharie asked, laying a warm hand onto the Batter's shoulder for comfort. There was a moment of silence before the taller man could speak. "The burnt." It came out as a whisper and he stared at his hands. In that moment, the Batter could feel the black sticky blood of all the Elsen he bludgeoned to death. He had previously thought he was doing a sacred mission, but was it really? If even the impure felt this intense emotion, this _fear_ , was it all in any way justifiable?

The Batter felt faint. He was a murderer. He existed in a dreamy delusion, a way to distance himself from what he did. He was incapable of understanding fear because he was always brought back, but with every save, the death count was saved. The Burnt remained dead. They always remained dead. The Batter's knees gave out and he fell to the ground unconscious. Zacharie gave a surprised squeak as he saw the other man topple over. "B-Batter!?" The merchant kneeled down and began to shake him frantically. "Batter!?" His voice cracked. Zacharie had never seen the Batter scared and he had definitely never seen him faint. He hadn't the slightest idea of how to help his companion other than to vigorously jostle him.

The merchant decided the best thing to do was run. Elsen are everywhere, so maybe he could find one. Zacharie scoured Zone 1 in a desperate attempt to find aid, but all the usually busy areas were empty. Zacharie stopped for a second to catch his breath when he noticed a flyer on the ground. He snatched it up and read the headline. "The Queen ordered bridges?" Zacharie said to himself. He scanned over the rest of it and bolted towards the building site the flyer listed. It was just outside the complex where Dedan could be found. "Left side left side left side" Zacharie repeated to himself, with each repetition holding more panic than the one before. Before long, he heard the usual sounds of a construction site.

When the usual porcelain white heads of the Elsen came into view, Zacharie felt a sudden flood of relief. He slowly came to a stop in front of an Elsen with a first aid kit in his lap. "Bonjour!," Zacharie wheezed "I need your help!"

The tiny man looked very frightened and confused, as anyone would be if a sweaty masked man was shouting at you. "I-I need to stay here… This work is v-very dangerous" the Elsen said in a small voice, trying to find an excuse. He shrunk down into his seat. "Well tell the others to stop or give another one a med kit!" The merchant snapped. The Elsen looked down and whispered a shy "okay" and stood. The tiny businessman then began to instruct another Elsen where the spare kits were and how to use bandaids. Zacharie gritted his teeth impatiently. After a minute, the Elsen gave a timid wheeze to signify he was ready to go. Zacharie grabbed a small white hand and began to sprint. The Elsen gave out a surprised cry and clung desperately to the kit and Zacharie.

It was a good time that the Batter had been left alone, and when the merchant returned, spectres had decided to crowd around him. They were all ogling at the limp creature on the ground, which made Zacharie angry. The Elsen hid behind him and began crying, which annoyed him even more. "Can't you help him?!" The merchant spat at the ghosts. In a flash, the spectres were gone and the Elsen was consoled. "W-what was that?" The small man asked, his lip quivering.

"Nothing. A stroke of luck, I'm assuming" Zacharie chided and knelt beside the Batter. "I have healing supplies but no medical experience, so I needed someone who's skilled in the area." The merchant felt his companions forehead and sighed in relief. "N-no fever?" the Elsen stuttered out. Zacharie shook his head. "He fainted and I didn't know what I could do."

"Ah…Y-you should wait... till he wakes up."

It seemed like hours. Zacharie grew more and more anxious as time rolled on and the Elsen was walking around picking flowers. After the seventeenth pacing lap, Zacharie stopped at the sound of a whispy groan. Within a couple seconds, the Batter opened his eyes. He seemed groggy and unsure of where he was. There was even a tinge of fear in the sportsman's expression. "Zach…?" the Batter groaned out, squinting at the man beside him. "Why is the Elsen…"

"Medical assistance" Zacharie said softly. "I never expected you of all people to faint. You're look very healthy."

"I uh, thanks" The Batter hoisted himself up into a sitting position and looked the Elsen over. He was tiny, with porcelain skin and big black eyes. His neat white hair was almost indistinguishable from his skin. The poor thing was trembling, shaking the contents of the medical kit. Batter could swear the fear coming off him was palpable. _The fear,_ the Purifier thought to himself. _They all felt it._

"U-Uh… I should… get back now…" The small businessman inched away. The Elsen knew the Batter as a murderer and a thief, who'd steal the dead's money right from their corpses. Also seeing a creepy frog mask was enough to send him running with his tail between his legs.

"Au revoir" Zacharie chirped. The merchant was more occupied with the sportsman than with him. "Oh… uh… H-housing… is being…" The Elsen could barely murmur "opened up" before scurrying away.

"He's… afraid" The Batter said, his voice shaking. In fact, all of him was shaking. He felt strong pangs of guilt and his insides began to churn in an unpleasant manner. It hurt his chest and made is hard to breathe. "He's afraid of me."

Zacharie decided that taking his mind off what was causing the Batter's distress was the best solution. If the Purifier kept thinking of his actions, who knows what he would do. "SO, uh, that Elsen mentioned that housing was being opened up. Want to go find a place to live?" Even though the Purifier couldn't see it, his face was full of anxiety. His heart dropped when his companion began to rock back and forth blankly. "Ahaha, come one. Let's go find a place to stay" The merchant's voice cracked and he silently cursed at himself. Showing panic will not help anyone right now, especially when the other person is on the verge of a panic attack. Zacharie grabbed the Batter's shoulders gently and helped him to his feet. Slowly, and very carefully, the duo walked over to the bridge construction site. It was almost done, with significant progress since Zacharie last saw it. _Maybe it was hours_ , he thought to himself. As he looked down at the other man, he realized that the infamous Purifier was actually shorter than him by 3 inches. The Merchant chuckled and together they stood, waiting for the Elsen to finish their job.


	5. Update 6-17-16

A lot has happened this summer, and a lot more is going to happen. I still need to get a job and go on vacation, and being in the hospital for two weeks delayed that. This fanfic is being put on hiatus until I rekindle the passion needed to write it. I hope it was enjoyable.


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